St. Landry democrat., 1887-10-22

gets her head thoroughly stuffed with the
modern novel she is in appalling peril.
But some one will say: 'The heroes are
so adroitly knavish, and the persons so
bewitchingly untrue, and the turn OF the
story SO exquisite, and all the characters
so enrapturlng, cannot quit them" My
brother, my sister, you can find styles OF
literature Just as charming that will ele-
vate and purify, and ennoble, and Chris
tianize while they please. The devil does
not own all the honey. There is wealth OF
good books coming forth from our pub
fishing houses that leaves no excuse for
the choice of that which is debauching
to body, mind and soul. Go to some IN
telligent man or woman, and ask for a
list of books that will be strengthen
ing to your mental and moral condi-
ton. Life is so short and your time
for improvement so abbreviated that you
cannot afford to fill up with husks and
cinders, and debris. In the interstices
of business that young man is reading
that which will prepare him to be a
merchant prince, and that young woman
is filling her mind with an intelligence
that will vet either make her the chief
attraction of a good mans home or
give her an independence of character
that will qualify her to build her
own home and maintain it in a
happiness that requires no augmen-
tation from ahy of our rougher
sex. That young man or young
woman can by the right literary and
moral improvement Of the spare ten
minutes here or there in every day, rise
head and shoulders in prosperity, and
character, and influence above the
loungers who read nothing or read that
which bedwarfs. See all the forests Of
good American literature dripping with
honey. Why pick up the honeycombs
that have in them the fiery bees which
will sting you with an eternal poison
while you taste it? One book may for
you or me decide everything for this
world or the next. 1t was a turn
ing point with me when in Wynn
koop's bookstore, Syracuse, one day
I picked up book called the
Beauties of Ruskin." 1t was only a book
of extracts, but it was all pure honey, and
was not satisfied until had purchased
all his works, at that time expensive be-
yond an easy capacity TO own them, and
what heaven | went through in reading
his "Seven Lamps of Architecture" and
his "Stones of Venice" it is impossible
for me to describe except by saying that
it gave me rapture for good books,
and an everlasting disgust for
decrepit or immoral books that will last
me while my immortal soul lasts. All
around the church and the world to-day
there are busy hives of intelligence occu-
pied by authors and authoresses from
whose pens drip distillation which is
the very nectar of Heaven, and why will
you thrust your rod of Inconsistencies
into the beautiful saccharine of perditon
Stimulating liquids also come into the
category of temptations, delicious but
beautiful. You say: Il cannot bear the
taste of intoxicating liquor and how any
man can like it is to me an amazement."
Well, then, it is no credit to you that you
do not take it. Do not brag about your
any principle that you reject alcoholism,
but for the same reason that N,u
reject certain styles of foot -
you simply don't like the taste
of them. But multitudes of people
intoxicant. They like it so much that
it makes them smack their lips to look
at it. They are dyspeptic, and they take
it to aid digestion, or they are annoyed
by insomnia, and they take it to produce
sleep, or they are troubled, and tt sy take
it to make them oblivious. or icy feel
good, and they must celebrate aeir hi
larity. They begin with mi julep
sucked through two straws on the
Long Branch piazza and end In the
ditch, taking from jug liquid
half kerosene and half whiskey. They
not only like it, but it is an all-con-
Stunning passion of body, mind and
soul, and after a while have it they
will, though one wine glass of it should
cost the temporal and eternal destruction
of themselves, and all their families, and
the whole human race. They would say
II am sorry it is going to cost me- and
my family, and all the worlds popula-
ton SO very much, but here it
goes to my lips, and now let it roll
over my parched tongue and down my
heated throat, the sweetest, the most in
spring, the most rapturous thing that
ever thrilled mortal or immortal" To
cure the habit before it comes to its last
stages, various plans were tried in olden
times. This plan was recommended in
the books: When man wanted to re-
form he put shot or bullets into the cup
or glass of strong drink-one additional
shot or bullet each day, that displaced
so much liquor. Bullet after bullet added
day by day, of course the liquor became
less and less until the bullets would en-
tirely fill up the glass and there was
no room for the liquid. and by that time
it was said the inebriate would be cured |
any one ever was cured in that
way I know not, but by long experiment |
it is found that the only way is to stop
short off, and when man does that he
needs God to help him. And there
have been more cases than you can
count when God has SO helped the man
hat he quit forever, and / could count |
4 score of them here to-day, some of
hem pillars in the house of God.
One would suppose that men would
AXE warning from some of the ominous
names given to the intoxicants, and stand |
IF from the devastating influence. You
nave noticed for instance that some of |
he restaurants are called "The Shades"
typical of the fact that it puts mans
equation in the shade, and his morals
n the shade, and his prosperity in the
shade, and his wife and children in
he shade, and his immortal destiny in
he shade.
Now, find on some of the liquor signs
n all our cities the words "Old Crow
nightly suggestive of a carcass and the
ilthy raven that swoops upon it. "Old
row" Men and women without num-